Post by tackitt on Nov 15, 2014 2:06:03 GMT -5

Speaking of recommendations, everyone that views this thread should see Whiplash. Saw it tonight, and it's an absolute blast. Edge of your seat, damn good playing, engaging story centered around the music, just go see it. Has me listening to all sorts of drummers right now.

Post by G on Nov 18, 2014 9:16:22 GMT -5

nodepression, those names / albums you mentioned branch off in two different directions. Fusion (more 'In A Silent Way' or 'Bitches Brew') or free jazz (Pharaoh Sanders). Here's an assortment of classic fusion, I think this is probably the sort of thing you're searching for:

Post by Pops on Nov 18, 2014 11:28:26 GMT -5

Hey Pops I've been getting more into stuff like John Coltrane "Africa/Brass" Miles Davis "In a Silent Way" and Pharaoh Sanders lately what should I listen to next?

Based on the above and what I know about what you like, I'd try Wayne Shorter's Oddyssey of Iska, Albert Ayler's Ghosts, Don Cherry's Mu or the live album Eternal Rhythm (he also played on Ghosts) and any of the late 60s/early 70s stuff from Sun Ra - or any of the Lost Reel compilations like The Shadow Took Shape. Let me know if you like any of those and we can branch deeper from there.

I was not familiar with this years' winner, but he does have a couple of albums streaming. This is the one I listened to - it was interesting, some songs veered toward smooth to my ears, but the intro is a woman doing a poetry slam kind of thing and the outro is hip hop, all over some pretty good trumpet.

Post by Pops on Dec 1, 2014 17:09:51 GMT -5

Here's a great album that just turned 50 about a month ago. If the title track sounds familiar but you've never heard the album before, it's because Steely Dan swiped/tributed the intro for Rikki Don't Lose That Number.

Post by snowman on Dec 3, 2014 15:27:05 GMT -5

Do any of you guys like snarky puppy? listening to their live album (we like it here) from earlier this year and its pretty good, especially if you like drumming. more rock than "typical" jazz style with great latin percussion/syncopation. Really Cool stuff.

Post by Pops on Feb 6, 2015 23:38:03 GMT -5

So I bought a bunch of Riverside reissues recently and they sound so good. Cannonball & Milt Jackson, Sonny Rollins' Freedom Suite most notably. Anyway, I went digging into the history of some of the reissue labels and other jazz imprints of the last 50 years. I came across Debut Records and read that this was run by Charles Mingus and his wife Celia. Then they divorced, and then Celia married Saul Zaentz - winner of Oscars for producing movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus and The English Patient. But he was a lover of music and jazz and was buying up Fantasy (nabbing Credence Clearwater Revival in the process) and other labels. When Saul and Celia got married, her ex-husband, Charles Mingus gave them full control over Debut records as a wedding present. Crazy stuff.

Post by billypilgrim on Feb 10, 2015 10:34:13 GMT -5

I got back Sunday from a trip to Havana that focused on Cuban Jazz. It was a tour group (which I've never done in my life, but made sense here given the restrictions on travel to Cuba and the difficulty of finding accurate, current info on where to do/what to go). We visited recording studios, music schools, clubs, museums, dance parties, etc. Then at night, we were on our own to explore more clubs. We heard and met some amazing young jazz musicians. Two of my personal faves were Michel Herrera (sax) and Yasek Manzano (trumpet). I loved every minute.

Post by G on Feb 12, 2015 10:57:36 GMT -5

This group put out one of my desert-island jazz albums in 2010 with Ashcan Rantings. This album, recorded at the 2012 Ljubljana Jazz Festival, doesn't come close to having the same impact, but is still a worthwhile listen and features some outstanding solos throughout.

While this list leans heavily on the freer side of the jazz spectrum, this album lands well within the chamber jazz world with strong classical influences. The tunes are really well written and the interplay between Adam Ba?dych's violin and Iiro Rantala's piano is on another level.

Jason Adasiewicz is really making a name for himself as one of today's premier vibraphonists. While he often performs alongside the likes of Peter Brötzmann, this album is rather straight ahead, but gives him a chance to shine in the spotlight performing his own tunes.

Gerald Cleaver (drums) and Craig Taborn (piano) appear together frequently. If I see an album with them together, I will listen to it. Here they are joined by the one-and-only William Parker on bass for the 3rd Farmers By Nature album and the results do not disappoint. 133 minutes of perhaps the best piano trio of the 21st century.

Ken Vandermark has gathered up the crème de la crème of Chicago's avant-garde jazz scene for his group Audio One. Each track on this album is dedicate to an idol of Vandermark's: Roscoe Mitchell, Anthony Braxton, Julius Hemphill, etc. Simultaneously moving and thrilling.

Jemeel Moondoc needs to record more often. I don't think there is a single dud in his discography. My (ex-?) favorite contemporary trumpeter Roy Campbell appears on this one, in what must be one of his final recording sessions before passing away. Essential for any jazz fan's collection.

Martin Küchen and the gang have done it again. With each successive release from the Angles ensemble, I can't help but fear that ideas will begin to run out or become stale. Each time they throw my fear by the wayside, take what they're doing to another level and make some of the best music of any genre being made today IMO. This album has everything. Slow, contemplative, atmospheric moments. Fiery, screeching, skronking, wailing, blowing-their-brains-out freakouts. Anger. Suffering. Rage. Heartbreak. Passion. Euphoria. Love. Hope. Joy. They don't need words. Listen to this album.